


Nap in the library

by Vault_Emblem



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken | Fire Emblem: Blazing Sword
Genre: Alternate Universe, Friendship, Gen, Napping, Overworking, Zine: Academy Emblem, crossover of sorts, they all attend Garreg Mach, though Eliwood and Lowen are part of the staff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-25
Updated: 2020-07-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 04:28:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,467
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25507483
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vault_Emblem/pseuds/Vault_Emblem
Summary: When Eliwood opens his eyes, he understands the reason why his body feels sore all over: he’s fallen asleep in the library like a lazy student and not a teacher of his caliber.Ah, what a shameful behaviour! He deeply hopes at least that nobody has seen him like this.
Relationships: Eliwood & Lowen (Fire Emblem)
Kudos: 6





	Nap in the library

**Author's Note:**

> My second piece for the Academy Emblem Zine, a zine focusing on an alternate universe in which characters from the other Fire Emblem games attend Garreg Mach as well. It's a very cool project and I'm proud of being part of it!  
> For this fic in particular I've decided to give some space to more underrated characters, because they deserve some love too :3
> 
> [If you want to find out more about this project, you can check out the Academy Emblem twitter account.](https://twitter.com/FE_academy_zine)

The first thing Eliwood feels, as soon as his body and mind begin to resurface to consciousness, is pain.

His back hurts, as do his arms, and sure, he may not be in his prime anymore, but this seems weird; he doesn’t remember doing anything that would warrant this, after all.

When he opens his eyes, he understands the reason why his body feels sore all over: he’s fallen asleep in the library like a lazy student and not a teacher of his caliber.

Ah, what a shameful behaviour! He deeply hopes at least that nobody has seen him like this.

He slowly raises his back, abandoning his previous position with his arms crossed on the desk and his head buried between them, a low groan living his lips, and he looks around.

What he notices first is that, surprisingly, his desk is completely clean, which makes him wonder: where are his books?

He clearly remembers that, before this unfortunate accident happened, he was helping some students with concepts that they hadn’t understood and helping with their homework, then, after they left, he meant to review some of the topics of that week’s classes, to be sure not to miss anything during his lectures. Thinking about it, he must have fallen asleep then.

Looking at his desk, however, there is an obvious problem: of all the books he had stacked, only one remains, which is the one he was sleeping on – and thankfully he hasn’t ruined it, or else there could’ve been a few problems.

Someone must’ve stolen them, which also means that yes, someone must’ve seen him asleep. Oh, the shame! How is he supposed to face the Headmaster after this?

He gets distracted when he hears mumbling behind him. It seems someone is talking to himself:

_“How many times do I have to tell him not to overwork himself? I knew this was going to happen eventually, I knew it! Oh dear me. When I saw him I feared the worst!”._

It’s barely a whisper – they’re still in the library after all – but Eliwood recognizes this voice. When he turns around, in fact, he recognizes Lowen in the act of putting the stack of books carefully balanced in his hands in its rightful place.

Shouldn’t Lowen be in the dining hall, preparing food for the students, however?

Oh dear, what time it is? Could it be that Eliwood has missed dinner?

He must have, or else Lowen wouldn’t be here. He would’ve never left if that wasn’t the case –he cares too much about his profession to do so.

At this point, all he has to do is to ask.

“Lowen…”.

He can’t even continue with his question, because as soon as his name leaves his lips, Lowen’s entire body jolts as he turns around with a yelp.

Unfortunately, the stacks of books isn’t as carefully balanced anymore, and some of the books, or better, _all_ the books, fall on the ground before Eliwood can even try to salvage the situation – he just woke up after all, his reflexes aren’t as sharp as they should be.

Immediately Lowen gets on the floor, picking them up, and he’s soon joined by Eliwood himself.

“I’m so sorry, Professor Eliwood! I’m making such a ruckus”.

“Do not worry, Lowen”, Eliwood soothes him, as he begins to pick some books up, “Here, let me help you”.

As he passes the book to Lowen, their fingers barely brushing, the other retreats himself as if he got burned.

“Oh, no, Professor Eliwood! Please don’t trouble yourself, I can handle it”.

“Nonsense”, Eliwood replies, “This is my fault too. After all, I’m the one who scared you”.

“B-but you shouldn’t”, Lowen continues, “What you should do, is to eat a bite. You need to recover your energy”.

Eliwood should’ve known it: Lowen can be quite stubborn when he wants to, especially when it comes to food. Skipping a meal for him is unacceptable, which is useful because there are many people – Eliwood included – that tend to get so overworked that they forget to take a pause from time to time, and of course this never bodes well for their health.

Lowen is the one who reminds everyone the importance of a full stomach; as banal as such concept is, the fact that he needs to act this way means that not everyone still has understood it.

“You noticed, huh?”.

“Of course I noticed! You didn’t even show up at the dining hall”, Lowen explains, “When I saw you weren’t coming I thought you were busy somewhere and I left something to bring you. But then I went looking for you and it was like you had vanished! You have no idea how worried I got, Professor Eliwood”.

“I cannot apologize enough for worrying you”, the teacher says, voice meek. He hates it when this happens, but as much as he promises himself to never repeat the experience, it seems that he can’t help it.

He’s about to add something… when his stomach growls, and not even just a bit.

He covers it with a hand then, his face that begins to get hotter with shame, and he says instead:

“Uhm, you mentioned that you left something for me, right? And where did you store it?”.

“Right on the desk”, Lowen chuckles, “Didn’t you see it?”.

Much to his shame, no, Eliwood hadn’t seen it; he was so worried with the sudden disappearance of his books that he hasn’t noticed the plate of steak beside him, but now that he knows it’s there, he can’t help but to look in its direction.

He doesn’t want to leave Lowen to do this alone – especially considering that he’s the one who took them and therefore he should be the one to put them back in their place – but he’s hungry…

Thankfully, Lowen understands, and he gently nudges him towards the desk.

“You should go Professor Eliwood, I can finish up here”.

Eliwood shoots him a grateful stare before getting up from the floor, leaving Lowen to the remaining books, to finally eat something.

Technically, bringing food inside the library is forbidden, but Lowen has somehow managed to do so without being found out.

Eliwood should not allow such breach in the rules, but he supposes that, for once, he’s willing to make an exception. If anything were to happen however, he’s willing to take full responsibility for this: it wouldn’t be right for Lowen to be punished for something he did to help him after all.

The steak is of course cold, but Eliwood supposes there is nothing he can do about it; the fact that he can eat something in the first place is enough.

Actually, the fact that, even like this, it’s still tasty, makes him wonder how delicious it must’ve been had he eaten it at the right time. Lowen clearly has a talent for cooking.

“How do you know where to put the books, anyway?”, he asks, curious.

“It’s not the first time I help you out with this, isn’t it?”, Lowen chuckles, and although that’s true, Eliwood can’t help but to wonder if he really does remember all the library sections only by helping him. If that’s the case, it’s quite impressive.

“And how did you manage to sneak around with this in hand?”, he continues, “I’m surprised they haven’t caught you red-handed”.

“Oh, I simply asked”.

… Wait, what?

“What do you mean?”.

“I simply asked the librarian to let me in with the food”, Lowen explains, as if this is the most natural thing, and then he adds, turning towards Eliwood, “We all know how much you tend to overwork, and we all want to help”.

At that, Eliwood stops eating altogether, turning to look at Lowen, a baffled expression on his face.

“Though I would appreciate if no messes are made, or else I’d really get in trouble”, Lowen continues, unaware of the other’s gaze on him as he puts the last book on the shelves. Oof, he finally did it.

Meanwhile Eliwood is still processing what Lowen has just told him. He simply cannot believe it, but on the other hand there is no reason for him to have lied, so he must be telling the truth.

The Academy has always been a welcoming environment for him, even when he first enrolled here so many years ago, and to hear that they even forego some rules in order to help him…

He truly has found the right place for him, full of people he cares about and that care about him in return.

“I… Thank you, Lowen”.

His voice comes out far softer than intended, full of feeling, but that doesn’t stop Eliwood – when has showing his feelings ever stopped him? – from continuing.

“I truly appreciate it”.


End file.
